Peter H. Gilligan, Ph.D., D(ABMM), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is the recipient of the 2014 Hardy Diagnostics ABMM/ABMLI Professional Recognition Award. He is recognized as a national and international leader in the field of clinical microbiology for his efforts in advancing the profession through research, leadership, and education.

Gilligan is the Director of the Clinical Microbiology-Immunology Laboratories at the University of North Carolina Hospitals and Professor of Microbiology-Immunology and Pathology-Laboratory Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. For the past 26 years, he has led the CPEP-approved post-doctoral training program in Medical and Public Health Microbiology as well as conducted research on the development, refinement, and evaluation of diagnostic methods for emerging pathogens. Gilligan has authored over 150 articles, books, and book chapters, and is a sought after lecturer. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Medical Microbiology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. An active member of the American Society of Microbiology (ASM), he currently serves as an editor for mBio, Clinical Microbiology Reviews, and the Journal of Clinical Microbiology where he edits the Point-Counterpoint series. In recent years he has helped establish the Professional Practice Committee for ASM, which according to Mike Miller, Microbiology Technical Services, LLC, “has revolutionized ASM's approach to supporting the clinical microbiology community.” This committee, which Gilligan chairs, has overseen the creation of a new clinical microbiology web portal, evidence-based medicine projects, Hot Topic webinars, and the transformation of the Cumitech series into new bench-level practice guidelines.